NEW YORK (BMI) - BMI Foundation President Ralph N. Jackson has announced the winners of the 8th Annual
John Lennon Scholarships, a program that recognizes the best and brightest young songwriters between the ages of 15 and 24. This year's winners include 17 year old Booker T. Washington High School student Sydney Price from Dallas Texas, who received 1st Place honors and a $10,000 scholarship for her song "Moon Lullaby."
Sydney was awarded the top prize at a special presentation during the BMI Pop Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on May 17.
South Carolina State University student Chriss Odom received the 2nd Place award and a $5,000 scholarship for his song "On Me (Nothing For Free)." Joshua A. Schroeder, a student at Central Washington University, was the 3rd Place winner and received a $5,000 scholarship for his song "Picasso."
Honorable Mentions went to University of Miami student Nick Kruge for "Silhouette," Berklee College of Music student Liz Stahler for "Not That Easy," and University of Texas at Austin student Christina Brehm for "Left Behind."
The 2005 judges included esteemed jazz specialist Suzan Jenkins, legendary record producer Russ Titelman, Warner Chappell Music's Sr. Vice President Neil Gillis, and BMI Vice President Charlie Feldman. The preliminary judges were Beka Callaway, Samantha Cox, J.W. Johnson, Wardell Malloy and Erica Tompkins, all from BMI's New York based Writer/Publisher Relations team. Thousands of students representing schools from every state participated in the competition this year.
Established by Yoko Ono in 1997 in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, the John Lennon Scholarships have been made possible through generous donations from Ono with matching funds from Gibson Musical Instruments. Over $150,000 has been awarded over the last eight years to students from select colleges, universities and music schools, and from national submissions from Music Educators National Conference (MENC) chapters.
The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 95% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.
